The Science of Staying Happy

Before we start, I just want you all to know that I'm NOT an expert at Mental Health Issues. I'm just sharing my personal experience here that I think might help some of you. If you think you need mental health treatment then I can share the details for people who can help. Just click this Text!

Although most people don't believe in Men dealing with Mental Health Issues, it was towards the end of September'2018 when I was completely burnt out of my professional life. I had a mental breakdown and suffered from Depressive Disorder. Then again since June'2021, after walking out of an abusive relationship, I've been dealing with PTSD which seems to have been cured to a better extent. I've only read about such things and watched in movies. I never thought that I would need this, but I had to take professional help for a while.

A lot of people, including me have a really different perspective about these professionals before we meet them. As per what I had seen or heard about them, they just sit and talk to you about things and then find out the cure accordingly. Surprisingly, this is not how it worked. Due to my mental illness being treated at its initial stage both the times, I just had to attend less than five sessions with him. I never understood how I was declared to be okay in such a short time. He never answered that but shared some simple tricks that I could apply to my everyday life and I would be fine. I implemented those, and I started to feel a lot better day-by-day.

Cribbing all over social media or removing my WhatsApp Display Pictures were never recommended. Most people only do that to seek attention. There are four hormones that determine a Human's Mental Condition. So, by measuring the level of these hormones in the brain, they find out if the mental illness has been cured or not:

• Endorphins.
• Dopamine.
• Serotonin.
• Oxytocin.

It is important that we understand these hormones, as we need all four of them for a better Mental Health Condition. I'll just break this down and try to explain things in a simpler way without using much scientific jargons.

So, the first hormone is the Endorphins which mainly deals with the Physical wellbeing of a human. When we put our bodies through certain physical exercise, the body releases Endorphins. This hormone helps the body cope with the soreness of the physical exercise. We start to enjoy exercising because these Endorphins not only make us happy but also builds that urge to keep the adrenaline going.

Laughter is another good way of generating Endorphins. You might have seen some people jogging regularly and doing a laughing therapy session. That's to get their daily dose of Endorphins running. You can try your own way to get your daily dose of laughter and physical activity.

The second hormone is Dopamine. We accomplish many little and big tasks in our everyday life, and when we get appreciated for that, it releases various levels of Dopamine. When you appreciate someone for their work at the office or at home, they feel good, that is because it releases Dopamine. Similarly it happens vice versa. So it's necessary to let people know that they're doing good and thank them for everything.

This also explains why some housewives/husbands are unhappy since they rarely get acknowledged or appreciated for their work. Same thing with people working in Corporate Industry. I've written another blog about it. You can read it by clicking this text. Not just the appreciation part. It's also about those little accomplishments. Once, we start working, we buy a car, a house, the latest gadgets, a new house, so forth. In each instance, it releases Dopamine. Now, do we realize why do we feel happy when we shop? It's all because of Dopamine.

Again, it's not necessary to shop and spend all your money or groom yourself the whole time in the name of self love or releasing dopamine. It could be anything that makes you feel content. As I said, It could even be something as simple as not smoking a day or even for half day or even for an hour. That's what mental treatment is about. You define your treatment. You do not need anyone's inputs in it. 

Coming to the third hormone, which is Serotonin. It is released when we act in a way that benefits others. When we transcend ourselves and give back to others or to nature or to society, it releases Serotonin. Remember I mentioned about appreciating others above? So it goes two ways... If you appreciate someone, it releases Dopamine in them and at the same time releases Serotonin in you.

Even, providing useful information on the internet, answering people's questions on Quora or Facebook groups or any other forum or doing things as simple as watering a flower or giving a penny to a ragpicker generates Serotonin. That is because we will use our time to help others. Not only it is about humans, even if you feed an animal or just show some affection towards them, it also generates Serotonin. Showing love, affection, tolerance, appreciation, helpfulness and kindness towards anything releases Serotonin.

Coming to the final hormone which is Oxytocin, it’s about human touch. It is released when we get close to other human beings. When we hug our friends or family members or our partners, Oxytocin are released. Not just hugs, it's being involved with your loved ones. For Bollywood movie lovers, the "Jadoo Ki Jhappi" from Munnabhai Franchise does really work. Similarly, when we shake hands with our friends or put our arms around our dear colleague's shoulders, or go on a family dinner or even hold hands with our loved ones while walking, various amounts of Oxytocin is released. This goes both the ways. It makes us and the other person feel good. So, if you look at it scientifically, living a happy life has never been so simpler:

• Do physical activity of your choice every day to generate Endorphins.
• Make a note of small goals every day and do everything you can to achieve it for the release of Dopamine.
• Be nice to others. It is free and costs nothing. It will help release Serotonin in your body.
• And finally, hug your loved ones to generate Oxytocin. Show genuine love and kindness towards people. No grudges LURKing behind that love and kindness.

I’m not saying that this will end all the problems that you have to deal with every day. But when we are mentally content, we can deal with challenges and problems in a better way. We are more capable of seeing the positives in every negatives when we are mentally healthy. And, it's not just with elders, with kids as well.

You read it right, sadly we see a lot of children showing signs of mental illness nowadays at a very early age. One of the main reasons for that is them being exposed to technology at an early age. I've recently also seen a lot of girls of about 4-5years of age talking and using a lot of make up. Allowing kids to use cellphones or make up or anything that should be used by adults at a young age is allowing them develop mental illness at a young age. This is just bad parenting and not modern parenting. A lot of Kids end up suffering with childhood depression, extreme anger issues, violent behavior and even porn addiction.

So, it is a request to all parents not to ignore this and keep children away from computers, cell phones, social media and even grooming products till they are of the correct age. Motivate them to play as much Outdoor Games and Sports as they can to generate Endorphins. Appreciate them for every small or big achievement which will not only help them release Dopamine, but they'll also learn to appreciate things and people. Even they will learn to appreciate things from you. Which brings me to Serotonin... Inculcate a habit of sharing and appreciating within your child and they'll generate Serotonin. Lastly, do give them a hug before they go to bed for a night of better sleep and for Oxytocin.